The journalist and writer discusses the magnetic game of Carlos Alcaraz through characters such as Admiral Nelson, who is from Trafalgar, Curro Romero, Serrat, García Márquez or Santa Teresa de Jesús
Tomás García Yebra (Madrid, age 66) says he hadn’t seen another Picasso of the racket like Carlos Alcaraz since the days of Nastase and McEnroe. His brilliance on the court, especially his drop shots – which he even likens to Marilyn Monroe’s smile or Gary Grant’s gait – motivated him to get behind the computer and write ‘Carlos Alcaraz’. The paradigm shift’ (Ediciones JC), where he deals very freely with the figure of the great Murcian tennis player, the current number one in the world. Yebra, a longtime journalist who worked in Colpisa and in the “XL Semanal” and author of novels such as “The Crimes of the Prado Museum”, does not hide that he was dazzled by Carlitos’ game, but the young 19-year-old tennis player « never” will make veteran Rafa Nadal forget. “Mozart is making us forget the Beatles?” says Yebra.
-What moved you to write a book about Carlos Alcaraz?
-Long ago I stopped playing tennis; I get bored of tennis players hitting rackets from the bottom of the court. In the spring, somewhat by accident, I turned on the TV and started watching Carlitos at the Masters Mil in Madrid. I said, but what is this, a Martian playing tennis? I was amazed by his confidence, his courage, his freshness, his humor and his fear of nothing. I thought, “This is how I wanted to live my life.” That was the germ, the spark that led me to sit down at the computer. It is the book, of how many I have written, that has cost me the least amount of effort. I tried to make it fun and intuitive, at the same time as the Alcaraz game.
-Why do you say that Alcaraz is a paradigm shift?
-Carlitos represents, it seems to me, entertainment and spectacle in its purest form. What fascinates the spectators – and me – is not so much the goal of winning a match, but the way it is approached. It’s not the what, but the how. In Carlitos there is effort, how could it be less, but it is an effort accompanied by art. I compare him to Curro Romero or Morante de la Puebla. What they give you is very hard to enjoy in an arena or on a tennis court. Before you win, you have to have fun to have fun; enjoy to let us enjoy.
-It’s not a typical biography, but it tells things about his life. How would you describe what you have written?
-I associate his tennis with life. In one chapter I compare him to Horatio Nelson. The English admiral at Trafalgar who destroyed the Franco-Spanish fleet because he dived with the ship Victory, a maneuver that no one had done until then. That boldness is similar to Carlitos in some of his shots. Courage bewilders, belittles and demoralizes the adversary. In another chapter I compare it to Santa Teresa. The itinerant nun learns to live religion with joy; Carlitos invites you to enjoy tennis.
Do you think Carlitos will make Nadal forget?
-No! Never forget Nadal. Does Bergman make us forget Almodóvar, Mozart and the Beatles? Let’s all enjoy it.
-Nadal used us very badly…he won everything and he also taught us lessons in effort, honor and chivalry…what virtues do you see in Carlitos?, what will he bring us?, shall we measure him by the ‘bar ‘Nadal’ or does he deserve another look?
-The virtues of both are different, certainly complementary. Nadal’s “head” has no rival. Carlitos’s is anarchic, romantic, counter-cultural, but this one has a lot of charm. As Oscar Wilde would say, “You always have to be a little unlikely.”
-What must a number one do not to succumb to glory?
-I hope what happened to Gabriel García Márquez doesn’t happen to Carlitos. The Nobel laureate told me in an interview, “I hate ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’.” Why?, I asked him. “Because before that novel I was a normal human being and now I’m not; I don’t know who my friends are, I don’t even know who I am.”
-Who is your favorite tennis player of all time?
—Nastase and John McEnroe. For virtues similar to those offered by Carlitos. In any sport, good work and aesthetics must prevail. Politicians are already there to bore, disappoint and embarrass us.
-You didn’t interview Alcaraz for this book…. What two questions would you ask him if you were standing in front of him?
-Have you had time to browse through my book, did you like the assignment?
-And what cheeky question?
-Carlitos I am a bad writer; So could you send me two tickets to see you at Roland Garros?… No, I correct myself, it’s too much to ask. Can you send me a shoe – the kind you destroy – to put in my bookshop-museum in Las Navas del Marqués?
-What sources did you draw on to prepare the book?
-No. My son Álvaro, who is also a journalist, asked me: “Are you going to talk to him?” “I don’t mean that,” I replied. It’s not a report or a biography, it’s a very crazy book, let’s call it an author’s book.
-Will readers who don’t like tennis like it?
-Until now, those who like it best are people who know nothing about tennis. It is curious: the sections in which I talk about tennis attract the least attention.
-What is the ‘feedback’ you get from readers?
-I tell my writing workshop students that I learn more from them than they learn from me. They don’t believe it, but that’s how it is. All opinions and all criticism – good, bad or semi-retired – add up, they never subtract. People see you more and better – in every way – than everyone sees themselves.
-How many Grand Slams do you predict for Carlitos in the next 15 years?
-All I wish for you is health and that you are happy, as happy as you can be in this world, which is not too much. The rest – which will be discovered when you have my years – is absolutely worthless.
-And in 2023…. bet someone wins?
-If I had a choice, Roland Garros. And with a drop shot, in the final, at the match point, he bounced on the opponent’s field and returned -saving the net- to his own field. I would definitely retire even if I was 20 years old. I’d say, “I’ll leave it at that.”
– Speaking of those leftovers… he says in his book that they have the magnetism of Montgomery Clift’s gaze or Marilyn Monroe’s smile… Hasn’t it gone too far?
-Of course I went too far, but to the detriment of Carlitos.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
